Review: Desmond Elliot’s ‘Knocking on heaven’s door’ is a hot, hot MESS

by Wilfreed Okichie

 

Knocking-on-Heavens-Door

 

The prolific actor turned director Desmond Elliot returns with another effort from the stable of Royal Arts Academy, in collaboration with Achievas entertainment. This time, he beams his search light on domestic abuse, the music business and hypocrisy in the house of God.

Debbie (Adesuwa Etomi) and Moses (Blossom Chukwujekwu) are a beautiful, successful couple. Apart from a gig leading the choir in her Pentecostal church, Debbie is also a top-selling gospel singer in her spare time. At home she makes some effort at appearing sexy, with her predilection for wearing bum shorts but this does nothing to impress her manager-husband Moses who seizes every opportunity to beat her black and blue. The first few scenes establish this premise but then things begin to stretch with repetitive scenes of domestic abuse. The domestic violence scenes appear to work well as Chukwujekwu credibly plays the big baddie who takes down the one person he is sworn to cherish and protect; physically and emotionally until all that remains is an empty shell.

Debbie stumbles on superstar producer Tom (Majid Michel, giving perhaps, the most annoying performance of his career) who sweeps her off with his vague promises of a mainstream audience as well as possibilities of an improbable romance. She holds him off but only for so long as she has long been starved of affection and may secretly be craving the attention that Tom provides.

Soon Debbie is faced with that most clichéd of scenarios; picking between 2 hot dudes. One who faces the world with a dangerous wink and the other who would rather put her in harm’s way.

The ultimate decision is a no-brainer but Mr Elliot seems to think he is on to something and stretches the experience for interminably long hours.

To murk things up a bit, he throws in a side story involving Ini Edo as an unscrupulous hustler looking out for all that she can get.

‘Knocking on heaven’s door’ is almost picture perfect; with pretty leads placed in pretty locations. Etomi, Chukwujekwu and Michel are generous eye candy and just watching them be, makes for some instant gratification. Etomi and Chukwujekwu in particular seem like they are ready to do better work but are hindered by the screenplay’s untidy plot turns. The characters’ impulse to break into song may scare some viewers off. The soundtrack wraps an all-enveloping atmosphere around the picture, hindered only by the obvious lip synching and lazy attempts atpiano playing, wind-blowing-in-the-air perfection.

Not one of the lead characters on Knocking on heaven’s door is likable. Chukwujekwu’s Blossom is a mean brute with a less than redeeming back story tapered on to him at the last minute. Etomi’s Debbie is a spineless weakling, presenting viewers with no particular reasons to root for her. Ini Edo vamps her way through the film as per her trademark style. But the worst culprit here is Majid Michel who goes through the film with a strange boisterous attitude that is as fake as it is unnecessary. There is no depth or feeling to his performance. All sound and fury, he manages to tumble over the top at the climax where he delivers a poorly conceived, cringe inducing speech.

Lacking subtlety or time management, Knocking on heaven’s door goes packing other subtle errors into its running time. Michel’s palatial home has a picture of an older couple in the background, a flash back sequence that is obviously set in the present, police men making an arrest without as much as conducting a search and a silly rape scene that embarrasses everyone involved. The film is not much to look at but the careful packaging should see it do brisk business.

 

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